It would be easy to refer to her as a ‘pint size’ star but the very petite Ayesha Omar has been making some pretty big waves in the industry she’s now shining across. She has taken the stage by storm with her characterisation of Sandy in Nida Butt’s adaptation of the 70s classic, Grease. Her voice loomed large over this season of Coke Studio, where she delivered an impressive version of a classical giant, Laage Re Nain. And her role as Khoobsurat on the popular sitcom Bulbulay has made her one of the most influential young actresses on television today. Ayesha confides that a style of clothing she wears in the sitcom sells out in minutes. To drive that point home, two young ladies come up to her as we sit down at Neco’s Cafe for the interview. They compliment her on looking even prettier in real life than she does on TV.

There can be no stardom without scandal and the trajectory of Ayesha’s career has been dominated by just as much controversy as popularity. She stirred up criticism of grand proportions for winning Best Album at the 2013 Lux Style Awards, which she talks about, along with much more …

You’re a brave person for diving straight into a musical (Grease) despite the criticism you faced after winning the LSA. Are you prepared for a live performance?

I had a very colourful childhood with a lot of song, dance, theatre and dance drama. I’ve done a lot of theatre since school and got used to the stage very early on. There was also a lot of singing as I was part of underground bands in college. In fact I never thought I’d be on television and it’s still stage and singing that has my heart. So Grease is where my heart is.

When it comes to criticism, I never take life that seriously. I do read everything that’s written about me but I’m my own biggest critic. Plus, apart from a couple of bad reviews the reaction to my music has been fantastic. The response to Coke Studio was huge. I certainly did not expect that kind of response.

But tell me, do you think you deserved to win the Lux Style Award last year?

That’s a really tough question but let me explain. You see people think I got an LSA for Best Singer whereas I didn’t. My award was Best Album and it was a voting category so while it was never released officially, I had uploaded my entire album on Sound Cloud and people had heard it. Truth is that the album was very well made and the main track, Khamoshi, was picked up as title track for a play. This doesn’t mean that I was the best singer; I would never compare myself to Sajjad Ali or Sajid and Zeeshan, who are terrific and I don’t think I could ever come to that level as a singer. But I do think the album was well made. A part of me still doubts that I deserved that award but then that’s just me. I always doubt myself.

Could that be why you keep switching paths and seem to be doing too many things at the same time?

I get bored very easily and I don’t want to limit myself to one thing. I want to experiment and express myself in different ways. I’m not the kind of person who focuses on just one thing. I’ve painted, done theatre, television morning shows, food shows, music, dance and I’ve even designed. Anoushey and I were asked to design a one-off collection for Labels and it was sold out in three days. ARY wanted a host for a dessert show; I did it. I was asked to do a morning show; I recorded 26 episodes. I don’t abandon projects; I simply do what is required of me and move on. For me, it’s about taking things as they come. But it boils down to two things: music and acting.

Acting has been your benchmark, with your character in the very popular sitcom, Bulbulay …

Bulbulay is the reason for my popularity and it is mass popularity. I don’t think any other character is getting that kind of following here. And I have no grand illusions that it’s about me. I believe anybody in that sitcom would be that popular. There’s no rona dhona, there’s mindless comedy and people love it.

Have you added anything to the character of Khoobsurat?

We all worked on the characters ourselves. Nobody told me what to wear or what to say or how to behave. All I got was Khoobsurat: a spoilt, rich girl married into a family of incredibly stupid people. They put up with her because she’s rich and she puts up with them because they’re not bad people at heart. They’re just dysfunctional. I’ve kept her very natural. Sometimes I have severe objections towards the language because even though the show isn’t meant for kids, children are watching. So when I’m talking to my mother in law, for example, I’ll make sure I give her the respect I myself would give an adult. I’d change a line like, “bakwaas bund karein” because I would never say that to an adult. I would not say, “shut up” to my husband. I’m always arguing with my director on things like that.

You’ve done well with Bulbulay but there have been no ground breaking, career defining performances. Do you think Grease will be your big breakthrough as an actor?

That might be Grease and there may be something bigger. I can’t say much before it materialises but I’m talking about bigger projects with characters that are intense and serious and involve serious hardship in execution.

What was the biggest challenge in being Sandy?

The innocence. Sandy is 16 and I may look that young physically but it’s tough to be 16 again. She’s this sweet, innocent, proper and orderly girl and it’s a real tough balance between sounding experienced and simple at the same time. That balance was difficult. But Sandy is not defined and Nida encouraged us to develop our own characters.

Plus, it’s so refreshing to be amongst young and enthusiastic kids; so different from being on television where no one really cares anymore. TV is great but the production process is very stagnated and I feel creativity is at its minimum in most projects. There are 10 similar stories running at the same time. I’m delighted to have done Grease.

Does the lack of opportunities and growth as an artist in Pakistan frustrate you?

No, no, no … you can’t look at things and wonder what you don’t have. I feel there’s a lot to do in Pakistan if you really want to. Television is stagnating but this new generation of people coming in can make a difference. There are stereotypes that are so hard to break, like a girl in jeans will be a vamp and home wrecker (she references her role in Zindagi Gulzar Hai) and a girl sitting at home in a shalwar kurta will be simple and good. But things are changing slowly. I feel I have an advantage because I’ve connected with the masses through Bulbulay. They believe in me so even if I wear sleeveless shirts on TV they’re okay with it. My biggest fans are burqa-clad women and little kids.

They weren’t so forgiving when you wore the Little Miss Jehadi t-shirt in a scene on Zindagi Gulzar Hai, were they?

That wasn’t my fault at all. I wore it to work; it was my night suit. My director, wanting to keep that particular scene casual, told me I should just continue without changing. The shirt never even registered to anyone; never crossed our minds until someone pointed it out on social media and all hell broke loose. I’m told that girls and fans follow every single thing I wear and that’s why I should have been more careful. I should have been more mindful. I think this is the only time in my career that I’ve cried over something. It really scared and troubled me.

You are perceived as an optimistic, happy person with very positive energy. What do you do when you read a bad review?

I’ve read a lot of bad reviews in my career but they’ve made me stronger. The lowest I ever felt was when pictures of a vacation I had gone on with my friend were stolen and circulated and a lot of negativity followed. They were just regular pictures of me and Maria (Wasti) but my God, the reactions I got were unbelievable. Even now they are spoken about. We were labelled terrible things and that really troubled me. They were circulated on the internet, on television and I thought there would be no life after that. But life moved on. That episode made me very strong.

Finally over to music, how did you feel when Rohail Hyatt called you for Coke Studio?

I was not expecting it. He called me to record a demo and was shocked to see that I could sing classical too. He thought that I was just a pop singer.

“I’m not good at marketing myself,” Ayesha concludes as we’re done talking over an extremely healthy lunch of hummus and Greek salad. She explains her obsession with healthy eating meticulously and even calls it her true calling in life.

“Life is about having fun, not about being slave to some driving ambition. We have to experiment and not be stuck in our pseudo bubbles all the time. Like I said, I don’t take things too seriously. I do feel I’ve made some stupid decisions and silly mistakes but life is short and I want to paint, sing, act and do whatever I want to instead of regretting that I didn’t.”